A Los Angeles resident is suing a popular North Hollywood gym, claiming a bizarre pepper spray incident inside the facility left him with “severe” injuries.
Albert Dishoian alleged in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County this week that the scene unfolded while he was working out at an LA Fitness located in the 6100 block of Laurel Canyon Blvd. in August 2024.
Dishoian claimed he “suddenly” started to feel unwell, with breathing troubles, “a burning sensation in his eyes” and “a persistent cough” coming out of nowhere.
According to the lawsuit, others nearby began experiencing similar symptoms, and when they looked for water and assistance from gym employees, “everyone around” was “gone.”
Dishoian alleged he went down to the establishment’s lobby, and discovered “a toxic pepper spray canister” had been deployed by an LA Fitness security guard.
“The pepper spray made its way into the gym where people were working out and affected everyone,” the lawsuit stated. “[Dishoian] was placed in a state of total shock and worsening pain.”
Dishoian said he was treated by paramedics at the scene, but he ended up going to a nearby hospital and claimed that while there, he was diagnosed with “brochospasms,” a “direct inguinal hernia” and “assault by poisoning with mace spray” due to “the tax effect he endured from the fumes and vapors of the pepper spray.”
The injuries “will continue to cause [Dishoian] intense anxiety, severe emotional distress, insecurity, fear, apprehension, pain and suffering,” according to the suit.
Dishoian is suing LA Fitness for premises liability and general negligence.
“It was a nondelegable duty of Defendant to allow Plaintiff to breeze freely on the premises and not to be subjected to any toxic impact,” Dishoian’s suit stated. “It was also the nondelegable duty of Defendant as the owner of the premises to timely prevent spreading any damage to Plaintiff, to timely evacuate him from the toxic enticement and timely warn Plaintiff of the oncoming harm.
“None of the duties of Defendant as the owner of the premises were delegable to anyone else.”
When reached for comment on the lawsuit on Wednesday, a spokesperson for LA Fitness said “we will have no comment toward this.”
